Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Nomad Foods Limited (NYSE:NOMD)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $10.50, but opened at $10.77. Nomad Foods shares last traded at $10.6910, with a volume of 37,218 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOMD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Nomad Foods in a report on Friday, August 14th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Nomad Foods from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research cut Nomad Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of Nomad Foods in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Nomad Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nomad Foods has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.25.

Nomad Foods Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s 50-day moving average is $11.60 and its 200 day moving average is $10.64.

Nomad Foods (NYSE:NOMD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.08. Nomad Foods had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 4.20%.The firm had revenue of $825.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $825.02 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Nomad Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.604-1.779 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nomad Foods Limited will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nomad Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. Nomad Foods’s payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Ruben Baldew purchased 28,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.85 per share, for a total transaction of $335,236.50. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 367,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,350,988.20. This represents a 8.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dominic Brisby purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.38 per share, with a total value of $619,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 726,794 shares in the company, valued at $8,997,709.72. This trade represents a 7.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 17.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nomad Foods

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Nomad Foods during the second quarter valued at about $411,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nomad Foods in the second quarter worth about $6,465,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Nomad Foods in the second quarter worth about $3,175,000. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC purchased a new position in Nomad Foods during the 1st quarter valued at about $150,000. Finally, Flax Pond Capital LLC purchased a new position in Nomad Foods during the 1st quarter valued at about $772,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.26% of the company’s stock.

Nomad Foods Company Profile

Nomad Foods is a European food company focused on the frozen-food market. Its portfolio includes frozen fish, vegetables, meals, poultry products, potato products and ice cream, which it sells through retail and foodservice channels.

The company’s principal brands include Birds Eye in the United Kingdom and other markets, Findus in several European countries, and iglo in Germany, Austria and other parts of continental Europe. Its portfolio also includes Aunt Bessie’s and Goodfella’s, among other regional brands.

Nomad Foods was formed in 2014 and acquired the Iglo Group, including the Birds Eye, Findus and iglo businesses, in 2015.